What will drive the markets this week?
On Friday, the S&P 500 officially confirmed its bull market status, marking a consistent upward trend since October 2022. The index achieved a record-high close for the first time in two years, propelled by a surge in chipmakers driven by optimism in artificial intelligence and investor speculation regarding potential interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve in 2024. Closing at 4,839.81 points, the S&P 500 rose by 1.2%, surpassing its previous record of 4,796.56 on January 3, 2022. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had already confirmed its bull market status on December 13, 2023, reached a new record closing high on Friday, reflecting its upward trajectory since September 30, 2022. In 2023, the Nasdaq composite rebounded by 43%, yet it still required a 4.8% increase to reach its prior record high close of 16,057.4437 on November 19, 2021.
In Europe, shares faced a weekly decline due to waning optimism about major central banks reducing borrowing costs. The pan-European STOXX 600 index concluded 0.3% lower, retracting from a 0.5% gain during the day. German producer prices fell more than expected in December, decreasing by 8.6% year-on-year, while the DAX 40 index was down by 0.1%.
Taiwan led gains in major Asia-Pacific markets, particularly in chip stocks, with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp surging by 6.63%.
Several heavyweights are set to report earnings this week, including Netflix on Tuesday, Tesla on Wednesday, and Intel on Thursday.
A crucial update on the U.S. economy is anticipated with the government’s initial estimate of economic growth for the fourth quarter on Thursday.
Additional economic indicators scheduled for this week encompass new and pending home sales, durable-goods orders, Purchasing Managers’ Indexes (PMIs), and the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index—the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge of inflation.
Events expected to move the markets this week
Monday, Jan. 22
- Brown & Brown (BRO) and Logitech International SA (LOGI) report earnings.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
- Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Procter & Gamble (PG), Netflix (NFLX), Verizon Communications (VZ), United Airlines (UAL), General Electric (GE), and 3M (MMM) report earnings.
Wednesday, Jan. 24
- Tesla (TSLA), IBM (IBM), AT&T (T), and Progressive (PGR) report earnings
- S&P flash U.S. services PMI (January)
- S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI (January)
Thursday, Jan. 25
- Visa (V), Intel (INTC), T-Mobile(TMUS), and Comcast Corp (CMCSA) report earnings
- Initial jobless claims (Week ending Jan. 20)
- U.S. Gross Domestic Product (Q4 preliminary)
- Durable-goods orders (December)
- New home sales (December)
Friday, Jan. 26
- American Express (AXP), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), and Norfolk Southern Corp (NSC) release earnings
- Pending home sales (December)
- Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index